Romans 12: Part 16
After covering when to mourn and when to rejoice, Paul goes on to tell us to "live in harmony with one another" in verse 16a.
Harmony
When I first hear the word "harmony", I think of music, but the other definition is more fitting here. Dictionary.com says that harmony means to be in agreement and to be in accord with each other. It involves a consistent, orderly, and/or pleasing arrangement of parts. It is congruity.
We like for people to agree WITH US and to arrange things according to OUR OPINIONS, but when we live in harmony, sometimes we are the ones yielding and sacrificing. In our society today, we have so many lines drawn in the sand and so many hills that people will die on. Yet, throughout the whole of Scripture, we have the theme of selflessness, sacrifice, and yielding our desires to others.
Living in harmony does not mean that one side always capitulates and the other side always gets their way. That is a recipe to create a tyrant. But it involves both sides, holding loosely to what they want, and willing to put someone else's preference before our own. Sometimes, we yield, sometimes we "get our way", and sometimes we compromise where both sides bend and find a mutually beneficial arrangement.
One Another
Examining the "one another" verses of the Bible is a delightful course of study. If we are unsure of how to treat our fellow believers, then we should dive into this subject.
This isn't a command just for others as in "this is how they should treat you", but this is a command to both parties reading this passage. As human beings, we are often highly concerned with what others are doing. Many people are unwilling to follow a command like this out of fear that they will be the only one obeying and therefore will be taken advantage of. Yet, we can only control ourselves and our obedience. If we obey this verse and someone else disobeys it (therefore refusing to live in harmony with us), then they will answer for their deeds before God, just as we will answer for our deeds as well.
Living in harmony with others is not easy. We will mess up. We will need to ask forgiveness and to forgive others. But we must keep working on living out this command.
Questions to Wrestle With
Take time this week to consider:
-What does living in harmony look like to you?
-When was the last time you compromised for the sake of harmony?
-When was the last time you yielded your preference for the sake of harmony?
-When have you gone along with someone else's preferences for the sake of harmony?
-How familiar are you with the one another verses?
-Do you often get hung up on "but what about them obeying this command?"?
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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